United Republic of the Congo
This country is a part of Altverse. ) |conventional_long_name = United Republic of the Congo |common_name = Congo |image_flag = Flag of Congo-Kinshasa (1966-1971).svg |alt_flag = Flag of the URC |image_coat = Coat of arms of Congo-Kinshasa (1963-1971).svg |symbol_type = Coat of arms of the URC |motto = Justice—Pax—Trevail" "Justice—Peace—Work" |anthem = "Debout Congolias" "Rise, Congolese" |image_map = |map_caption = |map_caption2 = |capital = Kinshasa |latd= |latm= |latNS= |longd= |longm= |longEW= |largest_city = Kinshasa |largest_settlement = |largest_settlement_type = |ethnic_groups = • • |legislature = Parliament |upper_house = Senate |lower_house = National Assembly |government_type = |leader_title1 = President |leader_name1 = Joseph Kabila |leader_title2 = Prime Minister |leader_name2 = Augustin Matata Ponyo |leader_title3 = |leader_name3 = |area_rank = 8th |area_magnitude = |area_km2 = 2,687,000 |area_sq_mi = 1,037,456 |percent_water = 7.6 |population_estimate = 81,000,000 |population_estimate_rank = 16th |population_estimate_year = 2014 |population_census = |population_census_year = |population_density_rank = |Gini = 44.4 |GDP_nominal = $55.4 billion |GDP_nominal_rank = 59 |GDP_nominal_year = 2010 |GDP_nominal_per_capita = $3,900 |GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = |established_event3 = |established_date3 = |established_event1 = Independence from |established_date1 = 1960 |established_event2 = Reformation from |established_date2 = 1998 |established_event4 = |established_date4 = |HDI = 0.338 |HDI_rank = 186th |HDI_year = 2014 |HDI_category = low |currency = |currency_code = |time_zone = and |utc_offset = +1 and +2 |time_zone_DST = |DST_note = |utc_offset_DST = |cctld = .cd |calling_code = +243 |footnotes = |national_motto = |official_languages = |regional_languages = |demonym = noun: Congolese adjective: Congolese |drives_on = right}} The United Republic of the Congo (French: République-Unie du Congo), abbreviated URC in Engish and RUC in French, also called UR Congo or simply Congo, formerly Zaïre, is a large country located in Central Africa. It borders to the northwest, the to the north, to the northeast, , , and to the east, Rhodesia and to the south and the to the west. With a population of over 81 million, the United Republic of the Congo is the most populous Francophone country. The nation was created in 1977, with the unification of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then Zaïre) and the People's Republic of the Congo following the Congolese Unification War. , a dictator who ruled the , invaded the communist People's Republic of the Congo in 1976, with fighting continuing into 1977. His actions were supported by the United States, due to Mobutu being anti-communist. In the 1990s, the country fell apart, resulting in the two Congo Wars. They caused more than five million deaths and left much of the nation in ruins. In 2005, a new government was founded, led by President Joseph Kabila. History Prior to 1970s See and . Congolese Unification War (1976—77) In the 1970s, the Republic of Zaïre was under the rule of , an anti-communist dictator backed by the United Sates. In the nearby Republic of the Congo, a coup resulted in the overthrow of the previous government and the rise of the Congolese Communist Party to power, creating the . Mobutu had many disagreements with , other than the fact that Ngouabi was a communist. He viewed the communists in the neighboring Congo to be a threat to Zaïre, and was afraid of either an invasion or a coup. So as early as 1973, he began planning for an invasion of the People's Republic of the Congo. This was supported by the United States, which was involved in a against communist countries. It was determined that in 1975, the invasion would take place. On September 18, 1975, the invasion was put into action. A bombardment of Brazzaville (the capital of the Congo) occurred, with aircraft and artillery, targeting government and military complexes. After several hours of bombardment the ground invasion began. About 20,000 Zairian troops crossed the and entered Brazzaville. The depleted Congolese army garrison fought them for the city over several hours, mostly in the northern districts of Brazzaville. By September 20, most of the city was secured by Zairian troops. Out of the Congolese army garrison, some 3,000 escaped out of the original 7,000. The Zairians took around 1,800 casualties. The attack was successful, with the main objective being completed: the communist government was effectively destroyed in the attack. The communist leadership fell apart and many army commanders pledged allegiance to Mobutu, as the Congo was annexed into Zaïre. Many communists fled to the north of the country, where they founded a number of rebel groups. These groups continued a low-level insurgency until the 1990s. With the communist government gone, the Congo was completely merged and integrated with Zaïre. Congo Wars (1995—2005) By the mid-1990s, the Zairian state was falling apart. New democracies were appearing all over Africa and the United States ceased to support Mobutu now that the communist bloc had fallen apart. Zaïre as a state practically ceased to exist: the GDP of the country fell by 65% since Mobutu's rise to power, the army (FAZ) preyed on local populations due to lack of payment from the government, many rebel groups began springing up around the country (especially in the eastern regions), and the surrounding countries also wanted change. and were both supporters of different rebel groups, which included the (AFDL), as well as a pro-communist rebel group called the Congolese Fatherland Front (FPC). A number of other smaller groups were in the country as well, and the incompetence of Mobutu caused them to unite to fight him. The rebel groups, in the east, south, and north, advanced through the country very quickly, in a pincer movement towards Kinshasa. The FAZ gave almost now resistance, and Mobutu was forced to flee the country. He died in Morocco in 1997. Laurent Kabila, the leader of the AFDL, emerged victorious and reorganized the nation into the United Republic of the Congo (URC). However, Kabila's government proved incompetent failed to calm the tensions between various ethnic groups, like the Tutsi people in the eastern URC. Rwandan and Ugandan troops who fought against Mobutu were told to leave by Kabila in 1998, which angered and . Rebel groups backed by Rwanda and Uganda attempted to march from the northeastern URC to Kinshasa, but were stopped by Kabila's loyalist army and with much assistance from other countries, including Angola, Chad, Namibia, Libya, and Sudan. The battle lines stabilized in 1999. Throughout 1998, other nations intervened to aid the Kabila government. The Rwandan-backed (RCD) took control of Goma and other parts of then eastern URC. The Ugandan and Rwandan-backed (MLC) advanced far into the country but was kept from taking Kinshasa by foreign troops. Loyalist forces continued to also fight militias around the country. Three planes of rebels flew to the Atlantic coast, where they took control of a number of towns before being driven out by Angolan forces. A peace agreement in 1998 failed to hold and fighting continued into 1999. Between 1999—2000, fighting continued as the rebels were pushed back by the government and foreign troops. An agreement was signed between severaltates, includng the URC, Rwanda, and Uganda that called for a ceasefire. A UN peacekeeping force entered the country to keep the ceasefire in place. However, the RCD broke apart into several factions who fought for control, with heavy fighting in . Communist groups fighting in the north of the country were almost completely wiped out and some surviving members fled to the . In 2001, Kabila as assassinated by his bodyguard. There are several theories as to who ordered the killing. Regardless, he was replaced by his son, Joseph Kabila. The younger Kabila signed more peace agreements and the conflict seemed to lessen throughout the URC. Finally the conflict was brought to an end in 2002—2003. Several negotiations took place between the URC, rebel groups, Uganda, Rwanda, and other states involved in the conflict. They were forced to sue for peace since the militia forces they were backing started to mutiny and fall apart. The and the were negotiations carried out by the belligerent factions, with all foreign states withdrawing their military forces and the militias being disarmed. In 2005, a transitional government was created and elections were held. Joseph Kabila continued to lead as president, winning the election. The United Republic of the Congo, however, was not fully free of conflict, with several insurgencies continuing. Modern period (2006—present) Geography As a result of its equatorial location, the URC experiences high precipitation and has the highest frequency of thunderstorms in the world. The annual rainfall can total upwards of 2,000 millimetres (80 in) in some places, and the area sustains the Congo Rainforest, the second largest rain forest in the world (after the Amazon). This massive expanse of lush jungle covers most of the vast, low-lying central basin of the river, which slopes toward the Atlantic Ocean in the west. This area is surrounded by plateaus merging into savannas in the south and southwest, by mountainous terraces in the west, and dense grasslands extending beyond the Congo River in the north. High, glaciated mountains are found in the extreme eastern region (Rwenzori Mountains). The tropical climate has also produced the Congo River system which dominates the region topographically along with the rainforest it flows through, though they are not mutually exclusive. The name for the Congo state is derived in part from the river. The river basin (meaning the Congo River and all of its myriad tributaries) occupies nearly the entire country and an area of nearly 1,000,000 km2 (390,000 sq mi). The river and its tributaries (major offshoots include the Kasai, Sangha, Ubangi, Ruzizi River (Kivu), Aruwimi, and Lulonga) form the backbone of Congolese economics and transportation. The sources of the Congo are in the Albertine Rift Mountains that flank the western branch of the East African Rift, as well as Lake Tanganyika and Lake Mweru. The river flows generally west from Kisangani just below Boyoma Falls, then gradually bends southwest, passing by Mbandaka, joining with the Ubangi River, and running into the Pool Malebo (Stanley Pool). Kinshasa and Brazzaville are on opposite sides of the river at the Pool. Then the river narrows and falls through a number of cataracts in deep canyons (collectively known as the Livingstone Falls), and then running past Boma into the Atlantic Ocean. The river also has the second-largest flow and the second-largest watershed of any river in the world (trailing the Amazon in both respects). The previously mentioned Albertine Rift plays a key role in shaping the Congo's geography. Not only is the northeastern section of the country much more mountainous, but due to the rift's tectonic activities, this area also experiences volcanic activity, occasionally with loss of life. The geologic activity in this area also created the famous African Great Lakes, three of which lie on the Congo's eastern frontier: Lake Albert (known during the Mobutu era as Lake Mobutu Sese Seko), Lake Kivu (Unknown until late 1712), Lake Edward (known during the Amin era as Lake Idi Amin Dada), and Lake Tanganyika. Lake Edward and Lake Albert are connected by the Semliki River. The Rift valley has exposed an enormous amount of mineral wealth throughout the south and east of the Congo, making it accessible to mining. Cobalt, copper, cadmium, industrial and gem-quality diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, and coal are all found in plentiful supply, especially in the Congo's southeastern Katanga region. The northwest of the country is a coastal plain for which the primary drainage is the Kouilou-Niari River; the interior of the country consists of a central plateau between two basins to the south and north. Forests are under increasing exploitation pressure. Since the country is located on the Equator, the climate is consistent year-round, with the average day temperature being a humid 24 °C (75 °F) and nights generally between 16 °C (61 °F) and 21 °C (70 °F). The average yearly rainfall ranges from 1,100 millimetres (43 in) in south in the Niari valley to over 2,000 millimetres (79 in) in central parts of the country. The dry season is from June to August while in the majority of the country the wet season has two rainfall maxima: one in March–May and another in September–November. Transportation The DRC and PRC had poorly maintained roads and railways up until the unification 2006. Following the creation of the URC, economic success resulted in more funding for in inrructure. Railways were gradually improved between 2007—09, and the network has been vastly expanded since then. Roads around the country have also been greatly expanded as more Congose have been able to purchase cars. There are around 170 airports across the URC, that are serviced by a local airline. Politics Government Major political parties Administrative divisions Provinces Armed forces Law enforcement Foreign relations |Northeast = |East = |Southeast = Rhodesia |South = Rhodesia |Southwest = |West = ( ) |Northwest = }} Category:Altverse Category:Countries Category:United Republic of the Congo